Each instance of HelpProvider maintains a collection of references to controls associated with it. To associate a Help file with the HelpProvider, set the HelpNamespace property. You specify the type of Help provided by calling the SetHelpNavigator method and providing a HelpNavigator value for the specified control. You provide the keyword or topic for the Help by calling the SetHelpKeyword method. To open Help to a specific topic, the keyword should be passed in the form topicName.htm.

To associate a specific Help string with a control, use the SetHelpString method. The string that you associate with a control using this method is displayed in a pop-up window when the user presses the F1 key while the control has focus.

The following code example demonstrates using the HelpProvider class to display context-sensitive Help on a form containing four address fields. The example uses the SetHelpString method to set the Help ToolTip text. When you use the context-sensitive Help button and click the Help cursor on an address field, the Help ToolTip appears with the specified text. When you press the F1 key with the focus in an address field, the mspaint.chm Help file is displayed because the HelpNamespace property has been set to mspaint.chm. The SetShowHelp method is called for each address control to identify that it has Help content available.